Official RCN CableCard Thread!

I don't have a Series 3 yet (drool!), but I am an RCN (Boston) customer. So just like the people who started threads for Cox and Comcast, I figured it would be good to put an RCN thread in place for RCN customers who have purchased Series 3s to talk about their experiences with attempting to get CableCards installed and whether or not your local RCN system has multistream cards.

I called this morning to set up a cablecard installation. The customer support person seemed to know what I was asking for and scheduled it right away. She gave me the obligatory no VOD, etc, etc (I am actually still keeping the DVR box for the time being) and then told me the charge was $1.50 per month per card. There was no installation fee associated with the process (she said it was waived). I'm just happy that I didn't have to explain to the person what a Series3 actually is and why I would need 2 cablecards...all in all, a smooth process (so far My installation wont be until next week, but I'll keep you all posted.

My CC order with 3-day Fedex unexpectedly made it across the country overnight, leaving me with a Series 3 and not even an install appointment scheduled! But that's another story...

RCN quoted me $1.50/month for the card, $14.95/card for installation, and "graciously" (my quote, not theirs) offered to waive the $49.95 "truck roll" fee. The real bummer is that I had kind of justified the cost of the Series 3 + service with the assumption that I could cancel the cable box rental and DVR service. However, it seems that I'm grandfathered into an old promotion that would actually make it more expensive to return the box!

Lastly, the TiVo arrived last week and I couldn't get an install appointment scheduled until next week!! Ouch. It's partially my fault, as I couldn't take any appointment for the second half of this week.

Has anybody tried going to the local RCN office to pick up a card? Mine is in San Mateo (on my San Francisco -> Palo Alto commute), so even though they told me it's not possible, I'm thinking of trying...

Based on what I'm hearing about new Comcast HD channels, however, it may just be time to switch. If only I could get the same high speed internet service through Comcast....

Just finished my RCN (Chevy Chase, MD) install... One card in my new Sony TV, 2 in the S3 and everything went well. $1.50 monthly per card, $14.95 install for each. Cards were immediately recognized and tuned to HD channels. Tech had not done a TiVo install before and seemed to enjoy trying something new.

I've been waiting to hear from someone in Chicago. I'm considering switching over from Comcast.

Click to expand...

Chicago, IL: just installed two CableCards. literally took 5 minutes; the technician called the operator to activate the cards while i was inserting them and literally a minute later we were testing the channels. he had never seen an S3 before but it didn't seem to be a problem at all.

Got my S3 yesterday. Called RCN - the next slot they have to install the cablecards is OCTOBER 12! I can't believe I have to wait that long. But they said they're $1.50 per month per card, plus $15 to install both.

Chicago, IL: just installed two CableCards. literally took 5 minutes; the technician called the operator to activate the cards while i was inserting them and literally a minute later we were testing the channels. he had never seen an S3 before but it didn't seem to be a problem at all.

Click to expand...

well, apparently it wasn't that perfect. later i found out that i'm not getting channels 540(CSNHD), 541(ESPNHD), and 542(DiscoveryHD). also channels 543(HDNet) and 544(HDNet Movies) have no sound. same problem with both CableCards on both tuners. all other digital and HD channels are fine.

tried calling RCN but they couldn't find any problems on their side (although the lady i spoke to didn't sound like she knew much about what she was doing). they are going to send a tech out to troubleshoot this but i doubt it's going to help.

can anyone with S3 and RCN in Chicago confirm that they are getting those channels?

Finally got things working here with RCN in Boston. The cable guy came by last week, installed the cards and left (I wasn't home at the time but my fiance was). I came home to find that 1 CC worked and the other was only getting sporadic channels. It turns out they didnt have the second CC registered to my account, so it wasn't authorized. A few phone calls later to RCN and they straightened it right out. I have to admit that they have been very easy to deal with. My second CC is now recognized and I'm getting all the HD and premiums I subscribe to...well done, RCN!

I have RCN in Boston (Arlington). The install went fine (30 min). The cards are $1.50 each a month and they waived the installation fee of $14.99. It took about 10 days to get an appointment. I'm guessing the popularity of the S3 will increase demand for the CableCards. Most people with just a TV probably don't mind the box that much.

The guy came with 2 cable cards today;He showed up around 10:30am, he left at 1:15pm and I have one kind-of-working tuner.

One cable card was DOA; he had a very hard time getting the live one to authorize.

First it just would not do anything .. "Acquiring channel lineup" (I believe it said.. it was burning into the screen for a VERY long time). After 3 or 4 calls back to the office they zapped the card twice, and finally after unplugging and re-plugging the TiVo, got basic cable channels. The Auth said: MISSING_PROGRAM_REKEY

By the time we had basic TV, and the local HD stations showing up, I asked him to check the premium channels (HBO, Cinemax, etc). No deal.. just a grey screen.

He asked them to zap it again... Then his cellphone battery gave up (he had been using the phone actively for a few hours at that point).

Anyway, he had asked them to zap the card again, and at first the TiVo went back into the blue screen with the swirling ball,and I paniced a bit, but the channels did show up... but still not HBOHD...

Now the Cable card says: Auth: Zero_Key

Any idea what that means?

I get to go through it all again tomorrow when they show up with yet another cable card, and that will try again with the authorization.

Does anybody know if the cable company needs a code from the Tivo "cable card" screen in order to authorize things like HBOHD?

Had RCN here today to install the 2 Cablecards. Installer kept saying that he had never done an S3 before. He would not read the instruction sheet from TiVo, and started to put in both cards at the same time. I stopped him, and made him do it one at a time. I d/n know why, but this was a big deal to him. Something about getting both cards hit at the same time was better for him.

He would not wait for set-up, but I confirmed that both cards were getting signals.

One nice thing: he said to run the setup, and he would call in an hour to see if everything was working. I did a new guided setup (without any freeze-up) and checked both tuners and some HD channels. Everything seems to be there. One hour later, he called to see if I needed him to come back! Luckily, everything seems OK. I hope RCN is able to stay in business, because I think they are better than Comcast.

Had my install today (RCN Boston). Took about an hour. Tech hadn't seen an S3 before and seemed a little "outdated" (he was probably 50-55 years old). We inserted the first card - and he called the CO to hit the card.. nothing except the "updating channel info", but no channels. After the first one didn't seem to be updating or working after about 10 minutes, he put the second one in so they could "hit" them both, To make a long story short, and three calls to the CO later to hit the cards, it eventually started working for both cards. Except the HD Tier wasn't coming in, and as he was on hold the fourth call, they started working on their own. We did get a 161-4 error a few times.

I am now also getting pay channels I wasn't paying for before (showtime, starz, etc), but I'm sure they'll fix that shortly. It was pretty smooth, and luckily the operators on the headend knew what to twiddle to get the cards working in the Tivo without too much hassle.

edit: I forgot to add, in the middle of initializing the first card, the S3 just randomly rebooted without warning. But it restarted fine and we continued with the install.

Hank, If you have the HD or digital tier with RCN, I believe those movie channels are included. I just stumbled across them a few months ago, and called RCN - I thought they would charge me. Turns out that, except for all of the HBO channels, RCN includes full movie channels in the price. Go to the RCN web page, and you can find your tier. I then printed the channels for setting up the S3. It was four or five pages.